Page 221 - Marketing Management

198 PART 3 CONNECTING WITH CUSTOMERS

Moving into e-procurement means more than acquiring software; it requires changing purchas-
ing strategy and structure. However, the benefits are many: Aggregating purchasing across multiple
departments yields larger, centrally negotiated volume discounts, a smaller purchasing staff, and
less buying of substandard goods from outside the approved list of suppliers.

LEAD GENERATION The supplier’s task is to ensure it is considered when customers are—
or could be—in the market and searching for a supplier. Identifying good leads and converting
them to sales requires the marketing and sales organizations to take a coordinated, multichannel
approach to the role of trusted advisor to prospective customers. Marketing must work together
with sales to define what makes a “sales ready” prospect and cooperate to send the right messages
via sales calls, trade shows, online activities, PR, events, direct mail, and referrals. 39
Marketing must find the right balance between the quantity and quality of leads. Too many
leads, even of high quality, and the sales force may be overwhelmed and allow promising oppor-
tunities to fall through the cracks; too few or low-quality leads and the sales force may become
frustrated or demoralized. 40 To proactively generate leads, suppliers need to know about their
customers. They can obtain background information from vendors such as Dun & Bradstreet
and InfoUSA or information-sharing Web sites such as Jigsaw and LinkedIn. 41
Suppliers that lack the required production capacity or suffer from a poor reputation will be
rejected. Those that qualify may be visited by the buyer’s agents, who will examine the suppliers’
manufacturing facilities and meet their staff. After evaluating each company, the buyer will end up
with a short list of qualified suppliers. Many professional buyers have forced suppliers to change
their marketing to increase their likelihood of making the cut.

Proposal Solicitation
The buyer next invites qualified suppliers to submit proposals. If the item is complex or expensive,
the proposal will be written and detailed. After evaluating the proposals, the buyer will invite a few
suppliers to make formal presentations.
Business marketers must be skilled in researching, writing, and presenting proposals. Written
proposals should be marketing documents that describe value and benefits in customer terms. Oral
presentations must inspire confidence and position the company’s capabilities and resources so
they stand out from the competition. Proposals and selling are often team efforts. Pittsburgh-based
Cutler-Hammer developed “pods”of salespeople focused on a particular geographic region, industry,
or market concentration. Salespeople can leverage the knowledge and expertise of coworkers
instead of working in isolation. 42

Supplier Selection
Before selecting a supplier, the buying center will specify and rank desired supplier attributes, often
using a supplier-evaluation model such as the one in Table 7.2.

TABLE 7.2 An Example of Vendor Analysis
Attributes Rating Scale

Importance
Weights Poor (1) Fair (2) Good (3) Excellent (4)

Price .30 x
Supplier reputation .20 x
Product reliability .30 x
Service reliability .10 x
Supplier flexibility .10 x
Total Score: .30(4) + .20(3) + .30(4)
+ .10(2) + .10(3) = 3.5